London practice swoops for Architect-CT

London-headquartered Darling Associates has acquired Architect-CT, a leisure and hospitality specialist practice based in Wilmslow, for an undisclosed sum.

Architect-CT, founded in 1983, focusses on architecture and interior design for pubs and hotels having worked on projects including The Lifeboat pub, Formby; the Old Chapel in Darwen; the Belsfield Hotel in the Lake District; and Hotel Indigo in Bath.

The architect will initially continue to trade under its existing brand and will remain based out of its studio in Wilmslow, with a gradual transition to the Darling Associates brand name expected later this year.

Around 22 staff are based out the company’s Wilmslow headquarters under director and principal architect Paul Brook.

Darling Associates was founded in 2003 and primarily works on luxury residential projects, hotels, offices, retail, and education schemes. It currently employs 80 people.

Chris Darling, managing director of Darling Associates, said the acquisition of Architect-CT was a “natural move” for his company.

“This will assist us with our expanded portfolio of regional projects and also to enhance our skills in the hotel and hospitality sectors. The acquisition, in combination with the expansion of our Poland studio, brings us up to 120 strong overall -providing us with all the attributes and wide talent base of a large practice.”

Brook added: “We’re looking forward to working with the Darling Associates team, as we continue to deliver leisure and hospitality design expertise to our clients.

“This move will certainly open up a range of opportunities for the Wilmslow studio to work across an expanded portfolio of services and sectors, and in turn we’re keen to help capitalise on our strong position in the pubs and hotels space, leveraging Darling’s strong London network as we contribute to our collective ongoing success.”